FBI release new study: 10 key behaviors of active shooters

Officials praised a teen who they say alerted an adult to Jack Sawyer's alleged plot to enter Fair Haven Union High School with a shotgun and kill students. The revelations came Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, as Sawyer was arraigned for attempted murder.
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Burlington police officers trained in Colchester to respond in teams and as individuals to school shooting scenarios in April, 2018.(Photo: Courtesy Burlington Police Department)

Diverse groups of people were gunned down by active shooters in 30 separate incidents as they gathered to learn, pray or listen to music in 2017, a recent FBI study finds.

It is the highest number of incidents the FBI ever recorded.

And when the year before is taken into account, active shooters took 943 people's lives in 21 states in 2016 and 2017, according to an FBI incident report.

"Casualty numbers were dramatically higher due to three incidents: the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada; the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida; and the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas," the report states.

A number of the shooters faced financial problems or mental health issues, investigators found.

The FBI Seal(Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Agents and psychologists with the agency hope future incidents might be thwarted if knowledge about the killers' patterns is shared with parents, educators and law enforcement officers.

"While some of these behaviors are intentionally concealed, others are observable and — if recognized and reported — may lead to a disruption prior to an attack," states the introduction to the study written by James Silver of Worcester State University and agents Andre Simons and Sarah Craun of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit.

Insights on active shooters

1. Demographics are not a good predictor.

Colchester Police Chief Jennifer Morrison wears a protective helmet during an active shooter training session Tuesday at the University of Vermont. At rear is UVM Police Chief Lianne Tuomey, one of the instructors.(Photo: Lisa Rathke/Associated Press)

2. Three-quarters take over a week to plan. And nearly halfspend a week or longer actually preparing or procuring the means for the atttack.

3. The majority obtained firearms legally.

4. One-quarterof the active shooters in the study had a previous diagnoses of a mental illness.

5. Active shooters were typically experiencing multiple stressors. In a teenager, this could include: disciplinary action at school, child abuse, neglect and significant conflict with other students.

"The data reflects that active shooters were typically experiencing multiple stressors (an average of 3.6
separate stressors) in the year before they attacked, an FBI study released in June 2018.(Photo: Courtesy)

7.Peers and teachers were more likely to observe the behaviors than family members for active shooters under 18. Spouses/domestic partners were the most likely to observe concerning behaviors in those 18 or older.